Faisalabad Initiative of Research and Management of NCDs

NCT07676214 | Not Yet Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: GTZ-FIRM-NCD-06-26
• Study Type: observational
• Target: 3,000
• Locations: 0 countries
• Sites: N/A

Brief Summary

The burden of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) continues to rise globally, and they have become the leading cause of morbidity and mortality, accounting for over 70% of deaths worldwide¹. Rapid lifestyle transitions and increasing urbanization have disproportionately affected low- and middle-income countries, which now bear a substantial share of the global NCD burden. Pakistan, with a population of 241.5 million, is experiencing a double burden of both communicable diseases and NCDs¹³. The widespread adoption of sedentary lifestyles and unhealthy dietary patterns has contributed to a marked increase in NCDs across the country². According to the WHO Hypertension profile 2025, it is the most prevalent NCD in Pakistan, affecting approximately 42% (41% males and 44% females) of the population¹¹, followed by diabetes, with a reported prevalence of 30.8%¹². Additionally, a recent cross-sectional study among adults attending a tertiary care hospital in Islamabad reported dyslipidemia in 71.6% of men and 78.4% of women, indicating a substantial underlying community burden³. Pakistan also ranks tenth among 188 countries in terms of overweight and obesity prevalence, with nearly half of its population classified as overweight or obese⁴. According to World Health Organization data, 58.1% of Pakistanis are overweight, and 43.9% fall within the obese category⁴. Despite their profound public health and economic implications, efforts to address NCDs remain fragmented and insufficient.17 There remains a significant research gap in community-based NCD screening initiatives, particularly within the suburban and peri-urban communities of Faisalabad creating an unmet need to initiate a preventive strategy at community level to raise awareness about these diseases. This direction will minimize the increasing incidence and prevalence of NCDs and will ensure the quality health outcomes for better future. Timely identification of these diseases through screening is a critical step in reducing their impact on individuals and societies. Early detection enables cost-effective management, improved patient outcomes and a higher quality of life.14 One of the most important ways of reducing deaths from noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) is to control the risk factors that lead to their development.6 In this context, the present study aims to evaluate a community-based project focusing on disease awareness, screening, and structured referral to trained treating physicians for early diagnosis and management of major NCDs. The findings are expected to inform scalable, evidence-based interventions to reduce NCD burden and improve population health outcomes in Pakistan.

Conditions

Diabete Mellitus; Hypertension; Hypercholerolemia; Obesity (Disorder)

Keywords

community screening; Diabetes; Hypertension; Obesity; Hypercholestrolemia

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• 1. Proportion of screened participants identified for: Overweight and Obesity, Diabetes mellitus, Hypertension and Dyslipidemia. 2. Proportion of participants who convert to standard-of-care treatment following diagnostic confirmation within three month.

  Participants will be screened according to standard South Asian population guidelines. Patients diagnosed with specific diseases will receive appropriate treatment as prescribed by the treating physician and will be followed up for a period of three months to assess clinical outcomes and treatment response

  Patient will be followed for 3 months

• Primary Outcomes 1. Proportion of screened participants identified for: o Overweight and Obesity o Diabetes mellitus o Hypertension o Dyslipidemia 2. Proportion of participants who convert to standard-of-care treatment following diagnostic confirmation

  3 months

Secondary Outcomes (1)

• Treatment adherence and Disease Control

  Patients will be followed for three months

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)
• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Asymptomatic Healthy Individuals

You may qualify if:

• Age: 18 years and above Gender: Both male and female Permanent residents of the selected study areas Willing to participate and provide informed consent

You may not qualify if:

• Pregnant and lactating women Oral and injectable contraceptive users Individuals with severe physical or cognitive impairments that prevent them from providing informed consent or participating in the screening procedures Individuals with implanted electronic medical devices (e.g., pacemakers or implantable cardioverter-defibrillators) will not undergo bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) for body composition assessment.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Getz Pharma: lead
• Faisalabad Medical Center: collaborator

Related Publications (15)

• Greenwood JL, Joy EA, Stanford JB. The Physical Activity Vital Sign: a primary care tool to guide counseling for obesity. J Phys Act Health. 2010 Sep;7(5):571-6. doi: 10.1123/jpah.7.5.571.

  PMID: 20864751 BACKGROUND

• 27. Gradidge PJ, Crouch SH, Thornton J, Matsena Zingoni Z, Torres G, Stoutenberg M, Kolkenbeck-Ruh A, Woodiwiss AJ, Mhlaba M, Ware LJ. Physical activity vital sign assessment and associated health outcomes in an underserved South African community. Journal of Public Health. 2026 Mar;34(3):495-505.

  BACKGROUND

• Morin CM, Belleville G, Belanger L, Ivers H. The Insomnia Severity Index: psychometric indicators to detect insomnia cases and evaluate treatment response. Sleep. 2011 May 1;34(5):601-8. doi: 10.1093/sleep/34.5.601.

  PMID: 21532953 BACKGROUND

• Pappan N, Awosika AO, Rehman A. Dyslipidemia. 2024 Mar 4. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2026 Jan-. Available from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK560891/

  PMID: 32809726 BACKGROUND

• Al-Baghli NA, Al-Turki KA, Al-Ghamdi AJ, Prasad K, Taha AZ, Al-Almaie SM. Evaluation of capillary blood glucose versus a high-risk questionnaire for screening for undiagnosed diabetes mellitus in Eastern province, Saudi Arabia. East Mediterr Health J. 2012 Dec 4;16(12):1237-44. doi: 10.26719/2010.16.12.1237.

  PMID: 24988398 BACKGROUND

• Misra A, Shrivastava U. Obesity and dyslipidemia in South Asians. Nutrients. 2013 Jul 16;5(7):2708-33. doi: 10.3390/nu5072708.

  PMID: 23863826 BACKGROUND

• 19. Wassan AA, Khan G, Usman M, Mubashir M, Tanveer T, Attique H. The Prevalence of Dyslipidemia in Patients of Newly Diagnosed Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) Attending Tertiary Care Hospital Federal Government Polyclinic (PGMI), Islamabad. PJMR [Internet]. 2024 Feb.

  BACKGROUND

• 17. Ashraf T, Sultana R, Nadeem A, Lashari MN. Obesity from Clinical Evaluation to Management Local Perspective. Pakistan Heart Journal. 2023 Dec 31;56(4):248-9.

  BACKGROUND

• Akhtar S, Aziz N, Baloch F, Jarrar Z, Khan S, Hanif S, Qamar S, Imran M, Khattak M, Awan S, Almas A, Kamal A, Samad Z. Non-communicable diseases prevention and control in Pakistan: recommendations from policy and public health experts. BMC Proc. 2025 Oct 14;19(Suppl 30):32. doi: 10.1186/s12919-025-00350-4.

  PMID: 41084014 BACKGROUND

• 13. Jenim N. The importance of early detection and screening for noncommunicable diseases. J Bioeng Biomed Sci. 2023;13:382.

  BACKGROUND

• Haq Z, Afaq S, Ibrahim M, Zala, Asim M. Prevalence of communicable, non-communicable diseases, disabilities and related risk factors in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pakistan: Findings from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Integrated Population and Health Survey (2016-17). PLoS One. 2025 Feb 3;20(2):e0308209. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0308209. eCollection 2025.

  PMID: 39899488 BACKGROUND

• Kazmi T, Nagi M, Razzaq S, Hussnain S, Shahid N, Athar U. Burden of noncommunicable diseases in Pakistan. East Mediterr Health J. 2022 Nov 30;28(11):798-804. doi: 10.26719/emhj.22.083.

  PMID: 36515443 BACKGROUND

• 4. Ashraf T, Sultana R, Nadeem A, Lashari MN. Obesity from Clinical Evaluation to Management Local Perspective. Pakistan Heart Journal. 2023 Dec 31;56(4):248-9.

  BACKGROUND

• 3. Wassan AA, Khan G, Usman M, Mubashir M, Tanveer T, Attique H. The Prevalence of Dyslipidemia in Patients of Newly Diagnosed Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) Attending Tertiary Care Hospital Federal Government Polyclinic (PGMI), Islamabad. PJMR [Internet]. 2024 Feb. 6 [cited 2026 Mar. 26];62(4):153-7.

  BACKGROUND

• 2. Malik ZI, Iqbal S, Zafar S, Anees M, Shah HB, Farooq U, Abid J, Akram S, Ghazanfar M, Ahmad AM. Lifestyle-related determinants of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) across various age groups in Pakistan. International Journal of Nutrition, Pharmacology, Neurological Diseases. 2024 Apr 1;14(2):177-84.

  BACKGROUND

Related Links

• 24\. World Health Organization. Hypertension country profile: Pakistan \[Internet\]. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2023 \[cited 2026 Mar 30\]. Available from:
• 18\. International Diabetes Federation. Pakistan \[Internet\]. Brussels: International Diabetes Federation; \[cited 2026 Mar 30\]. Available from:
• 15\. Gharibzadeh S, Donnelly R, Lee J, Highton PJ, Greenlaw N, Gillies C, et al. Risk factors for development of diabetic foot ulcer disease in two large contemporary UK cohorts. Diabetes Obes Metab. 2025;27(9):4782-4792. Available from:
• 14\. WHO. Management of noncommunicable diseases \[Internet\]. www.who.int. 2024. Available from:
• 11\. Bhatti MW. Nearly 42pc Pakistanis hypertensive, only 12pc control it: WHO \[Internet\]. Karachi: The News International; 2025 \[cited 2026 Mar 26\]. Available from:
• 7\. World Health Organization. Home \[Internet\]. ncdportal.org. 2024. Available from:
• World Health Organization. Noncommunicable diseases \[Internet\]. www.who.int. 2025. Available from:
• 5\. World Health Organization. Noncommunicable diseases \[Internet\]. World Health Organization. 2024. Available from

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Diabetes Mellitus; Hypertension; Obesity

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Glucose Metabolism Disorders; Metabolic Diseases; Nutritional and Metabolic Diseases; Endocrine System Diseases; Vascular Diseases; Cardiovascular Diseases; Overweight; Overnutrition; Nutrition Disorders; Body Weight; Signs and Symptoms; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms

Central Study Contacts

Syeda Fatima, PharmD

CONTACT

+923702501582; fatima.abidi@getzpharma.com

Study Design

• Study Type: observational
• Observational Model: ECOLOGIC OR COMMUNITY
• Time Perspective: PROSPECTIVE
• Target Duration: 3 Months
• Sponsor Type: INDUSTRY
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: June 24, 2026
• First Posted: June 30, 2026
• Study Start: August 1, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): August 31, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 31, 2027
• Last Updated: June 30, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-06